Automatic liquid-releaser



K. F. PETERSON. AUTOMATIO LIQUID RELEASBR.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.) 4

Patented May 13, 1890.

ffy/@Mr (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. K. I'. PETERSON. AUTOMATIC LIQUID RBLEASER.

PatenllMgyy 13,1890.

HIL

UNITED STATES PATENT GEEIOE.

KNUTE E. PETERSON, OE CIIICACO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE To EIMsELE, AND OI-IAELEs W. CALDWELL, OE WATERLOO, IOWA.

AUTOMATIC LIQUID-RELEASER.,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,608, dated May 13, 18941).

Application filed August 6, 1889. Serial No. 319,959. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, KNUTE F. PETERSON, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Liquid-Releasers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which*` Figure l is an elevation of the operating devices that are located below the water-tank, some of the parts being in section and one side of the supporting-frame being removed. Fig. 2 is a front view of the coin-box. Fig. 3 is a section taken at line 3 3 of. Fig. 2, looking to the left. Fig. 4. is a front view of another form of coin-box. Fig. 5 is a section taken at line 5 5 of Fig. 4., looking to the left. Fig. G is a section at line G G of Fig. et, and Fig. 7 is a detail side elevation of the pivoted weighted lever.

This invention relates to improvements on the automatic liquid-releaser shown and described in an application filed by me J une 27, 1889, Serial No. 315,785, and has for its objects to improve the construction of the Operating devices that are set in motion by the weight of a coin, and to improve the construction of the coin-receiving box, all as illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter fully described.

That which I claim as newwill be pointed out in the claims.

The water-tank and inclosing-case are not shown; but they are to be constructed and arranged as usual, and substantially as shown and described in iny said former application.

In the drawings, A represents a metal frame for supporting the operating devices.

B is` a gear-Wheel mounted ou a shaft d, supported in the frame A.

C is a drum on the shaft at.

b is a rope, one end of which is secured to an upper rail of the frame A, and the other end is secured to the drum C, around which the rope is Wound.

c is a Weight suspended from a pulley d, which is placed on the rope b, as shown.

D is another gear-wheel on a shaft @which shaft is also supported in the Iframe A.

fis a pinion on the shaft c, with which the gear-wheel B engages.

E is a mutilated gear-wheel on the shaft e.

F is a vertical bar having on its lower end a rack g, with which the mutilated pinion E engages. lt is held in its vertical position by. guides p.`

G is an arm pivoted at hand near one end to the stern of a valve located in a pipe H, through Which the Water flows from a tank. The end of this arm just beyond the pivotal point h is rounded or cam-shaped to allow the other end of the arm to be elevated to raise the valve-stein and permit the water from the tank to flow through the pipe H. The other end of the arm G has Aa slot t', into which projects a pin j, secured in the side of the bar F at its upper end.

l is a rod pivoted to one of the upper side pieces of the frame A.` and extending at its forward end under the coin tube or chute. Its rear end is screw-threaded and is provided with a screw-threaded weight 7s, which can be adjusted as required. A hook Z is formed with or secured to the rod I, which hook engages alternately with pins or projections m on the side of the wheel D and holds the parts from being operated until the rod I is tilted.

J is a fan-wheel which acts as a governor. It is mounted on a shaft n., suitably secured in the frame A. A pinion o on the saine shaft meshes with the wheel D.

The frame A and the devices supported thereby are to be located beneath the watertank of a coin-operated liquid-releaser, as shown in my said former application.

The operation of the releasing mechanism,

is as follows: Suppose the parts to be in the position in Fig. l. Now when the weight of a coin has depressed the front end of the rod I, and the hook Z has thereby been released from engagement with the pin m, the Weight c on the rope l) will cause the gear-wheel B to revolve, which wheel B, meshing with the pinion f, will revolve such pinion, and also the gear-wheel D and mutilated gear-wheel E, which are both fast on the shaft e, the di-` rection of revolution being indicated by an arrow. `As the mutilated gear-wheel E re- IOO volves it will engage the rack g on the lower end of the bar F and force such bar upward, which movement of the bar F will raise the arm Gsuflicientlyto open the valve in the pipe H and allow a predetermined quantity of water to be discharged at the mouth of the pipe. As the inner end of the arm G beyond the pivotal point 7L is cam-shaped, it will be seen that as the outer end of the arm is raised the cam-shaped end will come in contact with the upper surface of the valvecase and lift the valve-stem, permitting` the Water t0 How. After the mutilated gear-wheel has revolved sufficiently to disengagethe teeth from the rack the bar F will fall by its own weight to the position shown in Fig. l, carrying down the slotted end of the arm G, which will close the valve in the pipe H and shut off the supply of Water. After the coin has fallen upon the end of the rod I such rod will turn suliiciently upon its pivot to cause the coin to fall off, when the weight k on the other end of the rod will bring the rod back to its normal position in time for the hook Z to engage with the pin' m on the opposite side of the Wheel D, such engagement of the hook and pin necessarily stopping the mechanism until the rod I has been tilted by the Weight of another coin. It will thus be seen that the gear-Wheel D and mutilated gearwheel E each make one-half of a revolution every time that the rod I is tilted. By making the mutilated gear-wheel E with few or many teeth the flow of Water can be regulated so as to fill a cup or other vessel with the predetermined quantity of liquid. After the coin has fallen from the end of the rod J it drops into a receptacle, the upper end of which is shown in Fig. l, andis indicated by q.

Another feature of my invention consists in providing a coin-box which possesses the advantages described for the coin-box shown in my said former application, and also a further advantage in the fact that every coin deposited in the box remains on one shelf of the box, where it can be observed through the glass door of the box, until it is caused to fall into the coin tube or chute by the action of the next succeeding coin deposited in the box.

I attain this result by the devices illustrated in Figs. 2 and 6, inclusive, of the drawings, and as hereinafter described.

In the drawings I have shown two forms of boxesfor accomplishing the result stated, one form being shown in Figs. 2 and 3,in which K represents the coin-box provided with a glass door L, through 'which a coin or any foreign matter that may have been deposited in the box can be seen. r is the coin-slot. s is an inclined shelf located in the box K beneath the coin-slot r. t is another shelf located some distance below the shelf s and pivoted at u on a stud or pin projecting from the rear wall of the box. On the under side and at the lower end of the shelf t is attached a weight r, which keeps the shelf, when in its normal position, inclined in an opposite direction to the shelf s.V w is another and shorter shelf pivoted at two points a little to one side of its longitudinal center to a stud or pin projecting from one of the side walls of the box K. One end of this short shelf w is very close to the weighted end of the shelf t, and, as shown, such weighted end of the shelf t is provided on its under side with a proj ecting pin y, which enters an eye s, secured to the under side of the shelf Iw near one corner. i is a stop to limit the downward movement of the shelf t. M represents the tube or chute leading to the final coin-receptacle.

The coin-box is to be attached in any suitable manner to the front of the case of a coinoperated machine, and before the device is to be used by purchasers a coin of the proper denomination for actuating the operating devices is to be placed Von the short shelf w. The door Lis then to be locked, when the device is ready for use. Now if a coin be dropped into the box through the slot r it will fall upon the fixed inclined shelf s. From vthis shelf it will fall upon the end of the pivoted shelf t, and the momentum acquired by its fall from the shelf s will bev sufficient to raise the weighted end of the shelf, although the weight of the lever below the pivot u, together with 1;, slightly exceeds the weight of the other end of the shelf with the coin thereon. As the weighted end of the shelf t is raised the small shelf w will be turned sidewise on the stud or pin or by reason of the pin y, which projects into the eye z'. As the small shelf w turns, the coin thereon will fall off ,into the coin-chute M, the mouth of which is directly beneath the shelf w, and be conducted to the final cash -receptacle. Shortly after the shelf t has been tilted by the falling coin and the weight t* elevated, as described, such Weight will cause the shelf t t-o return to its normal position, as shown in Fig. 2, the engagement of the pin y with the l eye .e also returning the short shelf w to position. As soon as the shelf t returns to its normal position the coin thereon will slide down and onto the short shelf w, where it will remain until turned into the coin-chute by the action of another coin falling on the shelf t. It will thus be seen that one coin is always on the small shelf in, where it can be seen through the glass door L, and in case any spurious coin or small foreign substance be inserted that would act to dump the coin on the small shelf w, and thereby set the operating devices in motion, such foreign substance could be quickly detected.

As shown, the free end of the shelf t is turned up a little, so that in case a coin in falling from the shelf s strike such end the coin will not rest on such extreme end, but will slide or roll farther down on the shelf. The side wall of the box K oppositev this turned-up end of the shelf tis provided with a curved face, as shown in dotted lines in IOO Fig. 2, so that no space will be left between the end of the shelf and the side wall of the box through which a coin could escape.

In Figs. 4, 5, and G I have shown a modification of the coin-box, by means of which the same result is accomplished as by thc box represented in Figs. 2 and 3-to wit, the retention of one coin on the lowest shelf in frontof the glass door, where it remains until caused to fall into the coin-chute by the action of the next succeeding coin that is placed in the box through the coin-slot. In said Figs. 4, 5, and (i the same reference-letters are employed to indicate the box. the glass door, the coin-slot, andthe coin-chute as are employed to designate the same parts in Figs. 2 and 3. The shelves are somewhat different in construction, however, from those shown in the box already described, and I have therefore designated them by different reference-letters, `N being the upper shelf, O them middle shelf, and P the lower shelf. They are all secured in position by brackets Q, fastened to the rear of the box K, as shown, or in any other suitable manner. The middle shelf O is curved at bot-h ends in such manner that its upper end extends above and at one side of the curved lower portion of the upper shelf N, and its lower portion is curved inward and downward, forming in` effect a pathway for coins. As shown in Fig. 6, a portion of the lower end of the shelf Pis cut away, leaving an opening over the month of the coin-chute M, and forming on the end of such shelf P a tongue R, which, as shown, is bent upward and is at one side of the mouth of the coin-chute M.

The operation of this modied form of box is as follows: A coin of the proper denomina tion is to be first placed on the shelf P, one edge of the coin resting on the tongue R, as shown. The door L is then to be closed and locked, and when a coin is inserted through the slot r it will fall upon the shelfl N, from which it will slide down onto the shelf O, and from thence onto the shelf I), where it will strike the coin previously placed on such shelf with sufficient force to shove it onto the tongue R, which, being less than half of the width of the coin, will cause it to turn and fall into the mouth of the coin-chute M. The coin inserted through the slot will not at once enter the coin-chute, but its movement will be arrested by its contact with the stationary coin, and it will pass to and occupy the place of the stationary coin. It will therefore occupy the same position as the first coin did and remain there until it has been forced into the coin-chute by the contact of another coin descending on the shelves. A coin will therefore be upon the lower shelf and visible through the glass door L, the same as in the other box.

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a coin-operated machine, the combination of a rotating wheel D, mechanism for vrotating said wheel, and a mutilated gear E, turned by the same, with a coin-operated rod which engages and locks the rotating wheel against rotation when such rod is in its normal position, and a rack-bar with which the mutilated gear engages, substantially as described. .i

2. In a coin-operated liquid-releaser, a mutilated gear-wheel adapted to determine the quantity of liquid to be released, in combination with a rack-bar with which the mutilated gear-wheel engages, a valve in a discharge-pipe, and an arm connected at one end to the stem of the valve and at the other end to the upper end of the rack-bar, where* by the valve is operated and the liquid automatically released by the action of an inserted coin, substantially as specified.

3. In a coin-operated machine, a coin-receiving box having a coin-slot r, the inclined shelf s, the pivoted shelf t, provided with a weight r,which keeps the shelf inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the other shelf, and a pivoted shelf w in juxtaposition to the pivoted inclined shelf and con nected with and operated by the latter, substantially as described.

KNUTE F. PETERSON.

Witnesses:

ALBERT II. ADAMS, HARRY T. JoNns. 

